Middle East & North Africa

RIYADH, May 10 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia’s authority of civil aviation, announced yesterday, its initiative to prepare a framework that would make international travelling easier.

The initiative aims to unify procedures, to ease work associated with international travel, through establishing one digital source that provides the latest information and developments, and identifies the entry requirements for all participating countries, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia.

10 May 2022; MEMO: Iran's Foreign Ministry yesterday announced there was "no progress" in talks with Saudi Arabia.

"There has been no new development in Tehran's talks with Riyadh," the ministry's spokesperson, Saeed Khatibzadeh, told reporters, adding that his country was hoping for the recently-signed joint agreements to "be implemented."

Khatibzadeh pointed out that the two countries had discussed the Yemen conflict "despite the existence of disagreements on this file."

10 May 2022; MEMO: Israel verbally and physically tortures Palestinian children in detention and during their interrogation, Arab48.com reported on Monday. According to the lawyer of the PLO Prisoners' and Freed Prisoners' Commission, Heba Aghbariyeh, most of the children in question were subjected to such torture.

10 May 2022; MEMO: A Kuwaiti Emiri decree accepted the resignation of the government today, more than a month after it was submitted, state news agency KUNA reported.

The decree asked the government to stay on in a caretaker capacity, the report said.

10 May 2022; MEMO: The Centre for Lebanese Studies has called on donor governments to address the unprecedented education crisis in Lebanon at a funding conference in Brussels today.

This includes putting pressure on Lebanon to change policies preventing aid reaching schools and on the education ministry to end restrictions on access to schooling for refugee students.

10 May 2022; MEMO: Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said yesterday that he had ordered the group's fighters on the southern Lebanese borders to be on alert in order to be ready for any possible Israeli attack, Quds Press reported.

"Some of the Lebanese political forces used our weapons as headlines for their electoral battles," he said, referring to the demands of several factions that Hezbollah disarm and leave the mission of protecting the state to the army.

10 May 2022; MEMO: The Tunisian presidency announced yesterday the appointment of new members to the Independent High Authority for Elections Council.

10 May 2022; MEMO: The Palestinian Authority called on Monday for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Israel's plan to expel the residents of twelve Palestinian villages in Masafer Yatta, to the south of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

10 May 2022; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Algeria today for a visit during which he will discuss the Ukrainian and Libyan crises, the situation in the Middle East and developments in energy markets.

Sources said Lavrov will be received by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and hold talks with his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra.

The sources also noted that the officials will discuss "strategic bilateral relations and international and regional developments."

10 May 2022; MEMO: Jordan confirmed yesterday that its Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf), in coordination with the Endowments Department in Jerusalem, is responsible for appointing the guards of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

This came in a statement by the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments after Tel Aviv approved Amman's request to increase the number of Al-Aqsa Mosque guards.